Review: Vegas Robaina Anniversario VX (Canadian RE 2012)

[Puros Y Vino]

Vegas Robaina XV Aniversario: 2012 Canadian Regional Edition.

Vital Stats: 54 x 164 (6.5") Sublimes/Double Robusto

Cold notes:

Excellent construction. Not very oily. Passes the "pinch" test. Definitely ready to smoke. Milk chocolate wrapper. Slight veins. Solid construction.

Aroma at cold is cocoa powder. Cinnamon and nutmeg.

Start time 2:55PM

First third

Toasty tobacco on the light. Good draw lots of smoke. Coffee. Smooth. Dirty grey ash. Tannic notes. Dry tobacco. Short finish on each draw. Flaky ash.

Lovely summer day. Smoking in irony as this is one freedom that keeps dwindling. Nice hit of nutmeg. Subtle cocoa undertones. I don’t smoke many VR's. I really love the Unicos. I had a putrid Don Alejandro last winter. That stick brought shame to his name. My wife was sitting with me and even she remarked how bad it stank. That it didn't have a nice aroma to it. I one day hope to smoke a better sample. The Classico is a good smoke as well. Slight tannic note. Some sweet tobacco. Still mixed with some tannins. Windy day but my deck is immune. I can smoke in peace.

Very mild body so far. Smooth and relaxing but no wow factor yet. These are young but they should be made with some good tobaccos. The cigar sings in blue white smoke. Lots of it. A swig of fizzy wager to clean the palate . Cocoa showing its face now. Slight pepper finish on the subsequent draws. Body is now more on the medium side.

Second third

Some sweet bread notes. Reminiscent of a Fundadores. Ash falls off to cap off some cocoa. The wife joins me with a pack of Prartagas Chicos. .

Tannic again. Toasty tobacco. Hint of mint. Nice. Floral finish on the draw. More cocoa. Getting interesting now. Some wind chimes are going off at the condo across from me and they are grating on my nerves. Sounds like church bells in the distance. More toasty tobacco. Smoke billows out profusely . Some herbal sweet notes.

Toasty tobacco. Herbs are back. Nutmeg. Herbal. Getting a bit boring. This is my second one since release. Not doing a great job of impressing me. Lots of toasty tobacco, dry finish. The Chicos I've lit and re-lit for my wife had more taste. I expect more out of a sublime format. Vegetal notes now. Ash falls off as i lay down the cigar. A few cocoa puffs keep my interest. Second third ends with some promise.

Final third.

A nit more tannic. Bitter cocoa I'd say. Another swig of water to prep the taste buds. Ash falls off as i remove the re band. Cocoa again. Better. The cigar has remained mild/medium throughout. Sad.

Lots of toasty tobacco over the next few draws. Still loads of smoke. Finish is slightly peppery. Slight bean flavour emerges. Earthy notes. Slightly salty. Slight improvements but a little too late. Mint returns. Coffee on the next draw. Pepper on the finish. I take the R band off. Strong bean flavor emerges. Some strength is showing. Pepper finish more pronounced. I finish a drink of water. Cocoa is left over. Toasty tobacco, coffee grounds now. Very VR like, at least to me in terms of profile.

Herbal notes swing this right around. More floral notes follow. A good sweet chocolate pops up. More cocoa. Beans. More cocoa, toasty tobacco. The strength has slowly crept up. It took over 70% of the cigar to get there though. The next few draws are nutmeg, slightly on the spicy side. Pepper lingers on the back of the tongue. I take a drink to wash the palate. The carbonation seems to activate some flavours.

Earthy. Laid back cigar, just like us Canadians. Sweetness returns. Mocha flavours. Toasty tobacco again. Slight coffee finish. I've nubbed the cigar. Enjoyable, but not remarkable.

Score : 87

Finish time: 4:30PM

Conclusions:

Gorgeous looking cigar but an underachieving one. My first sampling was better. That cigar had far more dimension but even still it was not as enjoyable to me as a VR Unico. It's been a few months since I first tried it, so this second one was going to be interesting I thought. Sadly, it wasn't. Now, with that said, this cigar was still very enjoyable. It was mild/medium and very smooth. It's an easy cigar to enjoy for a few hours. I'm hoping this was a bad sample from the box. To me many of the Candian RE's have either been excellent. (RA Super Allones, Unicos for instance) or just "good" Bolivar Simones, VR Petit Robusto) This Vegas Robaina XV Aniversario is still relatively young. I'll let these rest for another year and revisit them later. I do hope they can live up to their namesake and really become something special.

[Bartolomeo]

Great review and thanks! I am a big fan of these down the road I am hoping but not now. My personal opinion is that 1966, 520, ERDM Anniv and these will be great in time but are OK now but thats just my experience.

[Ssmith114]

Very nice review! I just recieved a few of these today to sample. Def looking forward to trying one

[CanuckSARTech]

I always love me some fizzy wager.

Lol.

Great review as usual, Frank. We all should do annuals of this one. To see how it develops over the years.

Sent from my iPhone via Tapatalk.

[ramon_cojones]

Sounds like a terrible cigar. It's a shame as famosos were one of my first cc's I loved.

[tmac77]

Nice review Frank. too bad they did not get higher marks for a RE with a fairly high price point. I have a couple of boxes of these stashed away. Think I will let them be for a while yet. As for Canadian RE's I have had nothing but great smokes from all I have tried including the VR Petit Robaina which IMO is the best Canadian RE of the bunch.

[Rye]

Great review, but perhaps this cigar is sick. I will have to revisit one soon

[Hafner32]

Curious to see how you would stack these up vs the other Canadian REs. I have had the Bolivar Simones which I really enjoy as well as the RA Gorditos. I am considering grabbing some more Boli Simones or possibly the RA Petit Unicos which have gotten some really good reviews or perhaps the VR Petit Robainas. Any insight or help would be appreciated.

[Puros Y Vino]

Curious to see how you would stack these up vs the other Canadian REs.

Good question. Here's how I'd rank the other Canadian RE's. (the one's I've smoked)

1. RA Super Allones (epic smoke. a real monster. aging beautifully)
   
2. RA Gordito (great ROTT)
   
3. RA Unicos (very similar to RACF. I reach for these quite often)
   
4. Bolivar Simones (took me a while to like them. Still wouldn't buy a box though)
   
5. VR Aniversario (my first sample was better than the one I just reviewed. I think there's some hope for them yet)
   
6. JLP Supreme (enjoyed the two I had. Not enough to get a box)
   
7. VR Petit Robaina. (had one. might as well have smoked up a rolled up newspaper. others swear by them though)
   

[tmac77]

Good question. Here's how I'd rank the other Canadian RE's. (the one's I've smoked)

1. RA Super Allones (epic smoke. a real monster. aging beautifully)
   
2. RA Gordito (great ROTT)
   
3. RA Unicos (very similar to RACF. I reach for these quite often)
   
4. Bolivar Simones (took me a while to like them. Still wouldn't buy a box though)
   
5. VR Aniversario (my first sample was better than the one I just reviewed. I think there's some hope for them yet)
   
6. JLP Supreme (enjoyed the two I had. Not enough to get a box)
   
7. VR Petit Robaina. (had one. might as well have smoked up a rolled up newspaper. others swear by them though)
   

Interesting list Frank. I would rate them for my own personal taste as follows:

1. VR Petit Robaina. (simply delicious cocoa and coffee.)
   
2. RA Gordito (great. Very similar flavour profile to the RA Superior LCDH release)
   
3. VR Aniversario (Had a very good one the other day and loved it.)
   
4. RA Unicos (A great little Pyramide)
   
5. Bolivar Simones (Liked these from day one)
   
6. Ra Super Allones (great cigar but a monster needs more time IMO)
   
7. JLP Supreme (nice enough but not box worthy for me.)
   

For me the VR Petit robaina has been a clear winner followed by the Gordie Howe. my number 3 5 cigars are all pretty closely matched while the JLP is the only one that I would not buy again.

Tom

[Puros Y Vino]

Wow! Bad luck with the VR PR!

If you ever have a chance to try one or two again, do so man. They are very good little flavour bombs.

Interesting list Frank. I would rate them for my own personal taste as follows:

1. VR Petit Robaina. (simply delicious cocoa and coffee.)
   

For me the VR Petit robaina has been a clear winner followed by the Gordie Howe. my number 3 5 cigars are all pretty closely matched while the JLP is the only one that I would not buy again.

Tom

Hmm.. might have to give it another try. It;s very possible I smoked a dud. I do enjoy the VR marca for the most part.

[tmac77]

Hmm.. might have to give it another try. It;s very possible I smoked a dud. I do enjoy the VR marca for the most part.

I can bring one for you next meet up.

[maverickdrinker]

That wou

I can bring one for you next meet up.

You mean this afternoon?

[Hafner32]

Thanks for the info, if anyone else has any comments feel free to chime in. I have heard some great things about the Super Ramon, the size is just very prohibitive for me as I seldom get that much time to enjoy a cigar. I am leaning towards either the Simones, RA Unico or the VR Petit Robaina. I haven't found a RA that I didn't like however I have some VR Famosos with a couple of years on them and they are outstanding with deep cocoa and coffee flavors. As for the SImones, the one sample I have had so far I loved, going to try another this weekend.

Thanks Again

[Drunktoad]

hey folks! 

 

anyone revisit these as of late? looking for some up to date review as ive been offered a box. 

any info would be great 

 

thanks